LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departmental Air Travel

John Mann: To ask the Leader of the House on what occasions he has flown on official business (a) by budget airline and (b) in economy class in the last 12 months.

George Young: I have not flown on official business during the last 12 months.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Leader of the House on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member of each political party was refused by (a) a Minister in his Office directly and (b) his Office on behalf of a Minister in November 2010.

George Young: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of the Leader of the House of Commons, the Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr Heath), and I did not refuse any meetings with hon. or right hon. Members during November 2010.
	My hon. Friend and I are always happy to meet with hon. and right hon. Members from all sides of the House.

TREASURY

Business: Loans

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to create a more competitive banking industry in order to improve the availability of loans for (a) consumers and (b) small businesses.

Mark Hoban: The Government are clear that competition drives efficiency and helps to ensure that consumers are able to access the wide range of financial products that they need.
	The Independent Commission on Banking, under the Chairmanship of Sir John Vickers, has been asked to consider structural and non-structural reforms to the UK banking sector to promote competition and financial stability. The Commission will produce an interim report in April and its final report in September 2011.
	On 9 February the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced a new lending commitment by the UK’s biggest high street banks. As part of this commitment the banks intend to lend £190 billion of new credit to businesses in 2011, up from £179 billion in 2010. If demand exceeds this, the banks will lend more. £76 billion of this lending will be to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is a 15% increase on 2010 lending of £66 billion.
	The Government are also taking forward their plans to ensure a healthier consumer credit market through the review of Consumer Credit and Personal Insolvency. The Government are also consulting on the merits of shifting responsibility for consumer credit regulation from the Office of Fair Trading to the new Financial Conduct Authority, as part of the Government’s wider plans to reform the financial services regulatory framework.

Nuclear Power: Finance

Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the (a) analysis and (b) calculations underlying his Department's estimate that the existing nuclear sector is likely to receive on average £50 million per annum to 2030 in higher wholesale electricity prices attributable to the carbon price support proposals in the Finance (No 3) Bill.

Justine Greening: The figure is based on public data and the Government's assessment of the industry, which was applied to the likely change in electricity generation capacity and changes in the wholesale price of electricity. The figure is a result of the modelled impact of the price floor on wholesale prices until the late 2020s.

Pensions

Karen Lumley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of people in employment contribute to (a) a public and (b) a private pension.

Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is as follows:
	(a) In 2010, 84% of people in employment in the public sector were members of workplace pension schemes. This represents 6.2 million employee jobs.
	(b) In 2010, 36% of people in employment in the private sector were members of workplace pension schemes. This represents 6.6 million employee jobs.
	These estimates are from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many disabled employees of her Department are receiving support from the Access to Work programme; and what proportion of the workforce of her Department this figure represents.

Richard Benyon: Support and adjustments for disabled staff in Core DEFRA and its executive agencies are mainly funded through departmental budgets with only a small proportion of staff receiving support from the Access to Work Programme, as set out in the following table.
	
		
			 DEFRA/agency Number of staff receiving support from access to work Proportion of work force (%) 
			 Core DEFRA 0 — 
			 Animal Health/Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AH/VLA) 0 — 
			 Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) 0 — 
			 Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) 19 2 
			 Rural Payments Agency (RPA) 20 0.07 
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) 0 —

Apprentices

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department has a policy on requirements for the provision of (a) apprenticeships and (b) other training by (i) her Department's prime contractors and (ii) suppliers in the supply chain of such contractors.

Richard Benyon: The Department and its Executive agencies do not have a specific procurement policy that details the provision of apprenticeships or other training by its suppliers. These matters may be discussed with some suppliers in our contract meetings where these provisions may be relevant to the type of goods or services supplied but are not included in any contractual terms.

Apprentices

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many apprenticeships have been created directly by contracts with her Department in each of the last three years.

Richard Benyon: The Department and its executive agencies do not keep central or local records on the apprenticeships created directly as a result of contracts awarded. To identify this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Bed Bugs

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many infestations of bed bugs were notified to her Department in each of the last 10 years.

Richard Benyon: The Department has not received any notifications of infestations of bed bugs.

Biodiversity

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to publish an analysis of progress against her Department's 2010 targets on biodiversity priority species and habitats in England as part of the England Biodiversity Strategy.

Richard Benyon: There are 28 priority habitats with quantitative targets set for 2010 and we will provide a report on progress against these targets by the end of 2011. DEFRA understands that member organisations of Wildlife and Countryside Link are planning a report on progress against the targets of certain priority species, also in 2011.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the effects of culling badgers on the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle.

James Paice: The results of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) showed that badger culling, when done on a sufficient scale in a widespread, co-ordinated and efficient way, and over a sustained period of time, would reduce the incidence of bovine TB in cattle in high incidence areas.
	The evidence base on the effects of culling badgers on TB incidence in cattle was recently assessed at a meeting between DEFRA's Chief Scientific Adviser, Chief Veterinary Officer and a panel of independent experts. The key conclusions from this meeting, which includes a description of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial results and most up to date results of the ongoing post-trial analysis, were recently published on the DEFRA website at:
	http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/tb/documents/bovinetb-scientificexperts-110404.pdf

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle were slaughtered after testing positive for bovine tuberculosis in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010.

James Paice: The number of cattle slaughtered as skin and interferon gamma test TB reactors in England was as follows:
	2009—24,500
	2010—24,213.
	All TB reactors are regarded as infected and European and national legislation require all such animals to be slaughtered. Those cattle are then subject to post mortem examination and a proportion of them will also be sampled for laboratory culture, but this is not to prove or disprove the disease status of the animal. The primary purpose of post mortem and bacteriological culture of TB test reactors is to assess the severity of infection and identify the strain of the causative bacterium—this is useful for epidemiological investigations and helps to support subsequent outbreak control efforts. TB is a chronic and insidious infectious disease with potentially long incubation periods. In the early stages of this disease it is often not possible to see lesions with the naked eye, and due to the fastidious nature of the TB bacterium (which may be present in low numbers in the affected organs) it is not always possible to culture it from tissue samples. It is therefore wrong to consider all TB reactors that fail to disclose evidence of infection in the slaughterhouse or in the laboratory as being “false positives” or “negative for the disease”.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the likely savings to her Department in compensation which would not need to be paid to farmers in the next 10 years as a result of the implementation of a badger cull.

James Paice: Over 10 years we would expect to see savings on paying compensation to be as high as £1.6 million for a 350 sq km area.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what licences have been issued under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 in the last five years; and for what purposes, including translocation and despatch and excluding the randomised badger cull trial.

James Paice: Statistics for licences issued by Natural England under the 1992 Act up to 30 June 2010 are on the website at:
	http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/regulation/wildlife/licences/statistics.aspx
	In the five years 2006 to 2010, a total of 4,044 licences were issued by Natural England, mostly for sett interference or disturbance, for the following purposes:
	
		
			 Purpose Number of licences issued 
			 Prevention of serious damage 2,154 
			 Drainage or flood defence 257 
			 Agricultural or Forestry operations 612 
			 Preventing the spread of disease 18 
			 Development(1) 985 
			 Science, Education and Conservation(2) 18 
			 (1 )Data for development licences issued in 2006 not included as Natural England does not hold information for this. (2) Data for licences issued for Scientific, Education or Conservation purposes in 2006 and 2007 not included as Natural England does not hold information for this. 
		
	
	This table includes provisional statistics for the whole of 2010, and may be subject to change as records for 2010 are checked and updated.

Sky TV

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent on subscriptions to Sky TV since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: The Department and its executive agencies have incurred no expenditure on subscriptions to Sky TV since May 2010.

Butterflies

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of changes in the population of butterflies in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: We work closely with Butterfly Conservation and the Natural Environment Research Council's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology to compile and publish trends in butterfly numbers. Figures on butterfly abundance are used in both our UK and England biodiversity indicator sets.
	In England, the most recent indicator assessment showed long-term declines for many species up to and including the year 2009. Recently published data from Butterfly Conservation suggest that 2010 was a better year, with marked recovery for some of the scarce species, such as the Wood White or Marsh Fritillary, which appear to be benefitting from targeted conservation action. We intend to build on the successes of such actions where Government and the voluntary sector work together to secure benefits for wildlife. The recently published Natural Environment White Paper reaffirms this commitment.

Butterflies

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of potential effects of the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on the butterfly population; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Under European legislation, pesticide active substances are first evaluated at Community level. A key part of the process is an assessment of risks to wildlife, including pollinators. If an active substance meets the EU safety requirements, then products authorising that active substance can be authorised at member state level, taking into account that country’s individual agronomic, climatic and dietary requirements.
	In the UK, pesticides can only be sold or used after they have been authorised. As part of this process, the chemicals regulation directorate of the Health and Safety Executive (the Government body responsible for regulating pesticides) undertakes an assessment of the toxicity of each product and ways in which spray operators, the public or environment (including pollinators) may be exposed. The purpose being to ensure that the use of the product poses no unacceptable risks.
	The assessment for neonicotinoid pesticides has concluded that provided they are used in accordance with their approved conditions of use, there is no unacceptable risk to pollinators, including butterfly and other non-target arthropod populations.
	The Government would not hesitate to act should evidence emerge of an unacceptable risk. We continue to monitor research and developments in other EU member states and elsewhere to see if they are relevant to the UK and participate in initiatives such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) working group on pesticides-supported project on the pesticide effects on insect pollinators.

Butterflies

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to protect the butterfly population in (a) urban and (b) rural areas; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: It is difficult to differentiate between butterfly conservation in urban and rural areas as there is significant overlap and inter-play between them. However, in general, rural areas contain a greater number of specialist species and urban areas more generalist species.
	Specialist species tend to be highly reliant on protection through existing designated sites. Natural England is currently reviewing all sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) to ensure that the specific management requirements of specialist butterflies (and other species) are included in the conservation objectives of these sites.
	Natural England's recent research (“Managing for species: Integrating the needs of England's priority species into habitat management”) identified that many species of butterfly can have their conservation needs met by ensuring their requirements are integrated within urban and rural habitat management.
	For butterflies on farmland, the Government are developing tools and protocols to ensure that land that is managed under the Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agri-environment scheme has the appropriate management options in place to provide the correct habitat niches for butterflies.
	In urban areas, the Government are developing tools for developers and planners to encourage the adoption of management of habitat niches for butterflies and other species in the planning of urban green infrastructure.

Butterflies

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the conclusions of the United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme's report entitled, Final Project Report 2011; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The collection and analysis of butterfly data through the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is a partnership project involving the Natural Environment Research Council's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Butterfly Conservation, DEFRA and the conservation agencies across the UK. DEFRA recently published the final report from the latest phase of funding. The report concludes that while the numbers of most widespread butterfly species are comparatively stable, almost half of the more specialised butterflies (those species associated with more natural habitats) are declining. Despite this, agri-environment schemes are having a positive effect and there are some notable signs of recovery for some of these more specialist species, such as the Marsh Fritillary and the reintroduced Large Blue.
	We will continue to build on these successful cases, drawing on their example of successful partnership working with Butterfly Conservation and others in the voluntary sector, to design or deliver targeted conservation action.

Butterflies

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the possible effects of the reduction in the budget of Natural England on butterfly (a) monitoring schemes and (b) conservation projects; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The monitoring of butterfly populations remains an important part of Natural England's work, with its partners, to develop a more integrated monitoring programme across a range of species. Natural England is contributing £15,000 this financial year towards a UK integrated monitoring project for butterflies and a further £40,000 to Butterfly Conservation for data management to support UK biodiversity commitments.
	Natural England will continue to deliver and support butterfly conservation work as it has done in the past, but the emphasis will shift to habitat management as opposed to projects aimed at single species. This approach is supported by Natural England research (Managing for species: Integrating the needs of England's priority species into habitat management), which found that the most efficient and effective way to deliver butterfly conservation was usually by appropriate incorporation into habitat-based work.
	Natural England will place increased emphasis on ensuring that Higher Level Stewardship agri-environment agreements with landowners and farmers contain the appropriate management options for butterflies. Natural England will also be working closely with the owners and occupiers of sites of special scientific interest, National Nature Reserves and with existing and new landscape-scale partnerships, to ensure that the conservation needs of species are incorporated into the conservation objectives and habitat management for these areas.

Carbon Emissions

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the carbon dioxide emissions from her Department in (a) June 2010 and (b) June 2011.

Richard Benyon: It is estimated that from the office estate for June 2010, DEFRA non-weather corrected emissions amounted to some 11,034 tonnes carbon dioxide.
	DEFRA is still collating and validating its emission data for June 2011.
	Between 14 May 2010 and 13 May 2011, DEFRA delivered a reduction of 11.6% in carbon dioxide emissions from its office estate. Under the Green Government Commitments, it is now committed to deliver a 25% reduction in green house gases by 2014-15.

Carbon Emissions: Landfill

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take to reduce emissions of methane from landfill.

Richard Benyon: The Review of Waste Policy in England, published in June, sets out a number of actions targeting all levels of the waste hierarchy to reduce the amount of biodegradable material going to landfill. This can be done by preventing the waste arising in the first place, or diverting waste away from landfill into recycling or recovery operations. Measures include continued increases in landfill tax, and a commitment to consult on the restriction of wood waste going to landfill. The Government will also give further consideration to other landfill restrictions.
	Additionally, we plan a number of steps to increase the capture of methane emitted from landfill sites. This work is being carried out together with the Environment Agency and industry. It includes building the evidence base for how much and where methane generation is occurring in landfill, continuing to promote best landfill gas management practice by operators to meet obligations under the EU landfill directive, and seeking opportunities to promote new technologies that could capture even smaller quantities of methane than is currently possible.

Carbon Emissions: Waste

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take to reduce emissions from the incineration of wastes without energy recovery.

Richard Benyon: All incineration plants are obliged to meet the stringent emission requirements of the Waste Incineration Directive (2000/76/EC). DEFRA has no plans to impose additional restrictions beyond those already required by the directive and, for those with an incineration capacity exceeding three tonnes per hour, the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (2008/1/EC).

Cattle: Transport

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) origin and (b) destination was of each consignment of calves shipped from Ramsgate on 16 June 2011; how many consignments had journeys exceeding 18 hours; and in respect of how many of the consignments with journeys exceeding 18 hours the animals were unloaded and rested in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport.

James Paice: On 16 June, three consignments of calves were exported from Ramsgate to destinations in France. These consignments originated from Wales, the north, and south-west of England.
	Each consignment was accompanied by a journey log approved by Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA). To be approved, each journey, as described, would need to meet the rules on journey times and rest periods laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No. 1/2005.
	There is an obligation under this legislation for transporters to return the completed journey log following completion of the journey so that the actual journey details can be checked against those same details in the original approved journey log. The AHVLA will investigate further if there are deviations, suggesting a possible infringement of the legislation. If subsequent investigations confirm that this is the case, the AHVLA will take the necessary proportionate enforcement action against the transporter.
	Transporters must return journey logs to the AHVLA Welfare in Transport team within one month of the completion of each journey. In this particular case, as the deadline has now passed and the journey logs have yet to be returned, the AHVLA is pursuing this matter with the transporter.

Coastal Areas: Environment Protection

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with (a) the Crown Estate and (b) Welsh Ministers on the protection of sand beaches from erosion attributable to sand dredging.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA officials are in regular contact with the Crown Estate and officials of the Welsh Assembly Government about the operation of marine licensing, including the licensing of the extraction of marine sand and gravel, the most recent being March and this month respectively.

Coastal Areas: Environment Protection

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance her Department issues on measures to protect sand beaches from excessive erosion attributable to sand dredging.

Richard Benyon: The UK Marine Policy Statement, adopted in March, provides the policy objectives and framework for the development of marine plans, and sets out the issues for consideration in all decisions capable of affecting the marine area. In relation to aggregates, marine plan authorities should contribute to the overarching Government objective of securing an adequate and continuing supply to the UK market and should base their decisions on sustainability criteria. A marine licence or other regulatory approval to dredge should only be issued if the decision maker is content that the proposed dredging is environmentally acceptable.
	Physical impacts from marine aggregate dredging are tightly regulated to ensure that only localised impacts occur, and are primarily limited to changes in local bathymetry and water depth within dredged areas. Although concerns are often expressed that aggregate extraction leads to coastal erosion, the licensing process excludes dredging activities from areas where this could occur. All evidence submitted for consideration as part of the licensing process is technically scrutinised on behalf of the decision maker.
	There is an extensive evidence base on the effects of marine aggregates dredging developed under the Marine Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.

Community Composting

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on community composting; and what plans she has to expand its takeup.

Richard Benyon: Our recent review of waste policy reaffirmed our commitment to encouraging community composting; we think it can be good for the local environment, local communities and the economy. The Government's role is not to make the decisions about what are the best waste management options in particular circumstances: that is for local communities, but we provide a range of support to help inform those decisions. To that end, we support WRAP's work in developing markets for compost and recognise the role of the British Standard BSI PAS 100 in giving confidence that the compost produced is safe, reliable and high quality.
	We support community composting by providing exemptions from the need for an environmental permit for smaller-scale composting operations that pose little risk to human health and the environment. We have also commissioned research into the health risks from bio-aerosols generated during composting. This will help reduce uncertainties about the level of risk posed by bio-aerosols and odours at composting sites and ensure regulatory controls are applied proportionately. We have also established a framework for excepting certain small-scale and community composting projects from the need to comply with the requirements of the Animal By-Products Regulations where there is clearly no risk to public or animal health.

Countryside

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what support her Department plans to provide to national countryside week in each of the next four financial years.

Richard Benyon: National countryside week was launched by the Prince’s Countryside Fund on 11 July. The fund is intended to improve the sustainability of British farming and rural communities; reconnect consumers with countryside issues; and support farming and rural crisis charities. The fund works by participating companies making a donation and providing in-kind support; as the fund works with businesses rather than Government, DEFRA cannot provide direct support to the fund, although it supports its overall aims.

Crops: Research

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the policy of her Department is on the retention of regional research hubs for groupings of crops.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA does not fund regional research hubs for groupings of crops. There are no plans to establish such hubs. Crop research is undertaken within research institutes and university departments across the UK.

Departmental Air Travel

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what occasions she has flown on official business (a) by budget airline and (b) in economy class in the last 12 months.

Richard Benyon: During the last 12 months the Secretary of State has made the following journeys by budget airline or in economy class on official departmental business.
	
		
			 Date Journey Airline Purpose 
			 2010    
			 19 September Single: London to Brussels Brussels Airlines Informal Agriculture Council 
			 25 September Single: Amsterdam to Heathrow British Airways Return to London from UN General Assembly 
			 14-15 October Return: London to Luxembourg Lux Air Environment Council 
			 31 October Single: Nagoya to Shanghai China Eastern Shanghai Expo 
			     
			 2011    
			 21-22 January Return: London to Berlin British Airways Berlin Green Week 
			 20-21 February Return: Birmingham to Brussels Brussels Air Agriculture Council 
			 13-15 March Return: Birmingham to Brussels Brussels Air Environment Council 
			 24-26 March Return: London to Budapest Swiss International Informal Environment Council 
			 29-31 May Return: Birmingham to Budapest Swiss International Informal Ag meeting 
			 21-22 June Return: Birmingham to Luxembourg Lux Air Environment Council 
			 10-11 July Return: Birmingham to Gdansk Lufthansa (out) Environment Council 
			   Wizz Air (return)(1)  
			 (1)Budget airline

Departmental Allowances

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what expenses were claimed by (a) paid and (b) unpaid special advisers working in her Department in the last 12 months.

Richard Benyon: Over the last 12 months, the Department's special advisers claimed £88.29 in expenses for reimbursement of mileage accumulated during departmental business. The Department has no unpaid special advisers.

Departmental Billing

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many invoices her Department received in respect of goods or services supplied by tier 1 suppliers between 1 May 2010 and 1 April 2011; and how many of those invoices were not paid within the period of time specified in the Government's Fair Payment guidance.

Richard Benyon: The Government’s Fair Payment guidance relates to payments to construction suppliers and DEFRA and its Executive agencies do not record centrally whether a supplier is a Tier 1 construction supplier.
	To identify all payments for construction that fall within the Government’s Fair Payment guidance for the core Department and its Executive agencies would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Billing

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many invoices received by her Department have been paid (a) on time and (b) late in each month since May 2010; and what the monetary value is of the invoices paid late.

Richard Benyon: Invoices received from suppliers and paid on time and late in the period May 2010 to May 2011 for the Department and executive agencies are as laid out in the following tables.
	
		
			 Core Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
			 Period Invoices paid on time Invoices paid late Value paid late (£) Percentage paid late 
			 May 2010 4,020 34 61,508 0.85 
			 June 2010 3,726 5 5,557 0.13 
			 Jul 2010 3,524 7 53,598 0.20 
			 August 2010 3,431 6 71,176 0.17 
			 September 2010 3,239 4 18,642 0.12 
			 October 2010 3,647 23 113,975 0.63 
			 November 2010 3,042 3 28,800 0.10 
			 December 2010 2,839 4 63,645 0.14. 
			 January 2011 2,871 4 15,357 0.14 
			 February 2011 3,279 9 48,641 0.27 
			 March 2011 3,765 7 65,180 0.19 
			 April 2011 2,641 14 184,780 0.53 
			 May 2011 2,668 5 17,797 0.19 
			 Note: Includes all invoices received including those received from the DEFRA network and OGDs. Paid late based on: when paid outside of supplier terms as recorded; or where payment did not meet prompt payment initiatives for immediate term suppliers—this was five days with effect from 1 October 2011 and 10 days prior to that date. 
		
	
	
		
			 Rural Payments Agency 
			 Period Invoices paid on time Invoices paid late Value paid late  (£) Percentage paid late 
			 May 2010 247 11 Unavailable 7.14 
			 June 2010 225 2 Unavailable 0.88 
			 July 2010 220 3 Unavailable 1.35 
			 August 2010 247 0 Unavailable 0 
			 September 2010 208 2 Unavailable 0.95 
			 October 2010 207 1 Unavailable 0.48 
			 November 2010 146 1 Unavailable 0.68 
			 December 2010 139 4 Unavailable 2.11 
			 January 2011 219 1 Unavailable 0.45 
			 February 2011 153 3 Unavailable 1.92 
			 March 2011 216 1 Unavailable 0.46 
			 April 2011 148 1 Unavailable 0.67 
		
	
	
		
			 May 2011 148 0 Unavailable 0 
			 Note: Based on all valid supplier invoices and the payment target is 80% within five days. 
		
	
	
		
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate 
			 Period Invoices paid on time Invoices paid late Value paid late (£) Percentage paid late 
			 May 2010 83 8 21,268.78 8.79 
			 June 2010 95 10 28,070.97 9.52 
			 July 2010 69 13 131,624.00 15.85 
			 August 2010 53 21 29,766.20 28.38 
			 September 2010 65 11 29,281.15 14.47 
			 October 2010 53 18 490,282.09 25.35 
			 November 2010 .87 8 16,883.30 8.42 
			 December 2010 73 4 10,737.29 5.19 
			 January 2011 84 5 235,726.79 5.62 
			 February 2011 71 7 13,606.44 8.97 
			 March 2011 119 13 17,626.43 9.85 
			 April 2011 81 2 232,395.79 2.41 
			 May 2011 80 15 71,103.86 15.79 
			 Note: Since 1 May 2010, the VMD have worked to the target of paying 80% of undisputed supplier invoices within five working days. All invoices in the “paid late” column were paid after five working days and include invoices that may have been disputed for some time before payment. 
		
	
	
		
			 CEFAS 
			 Period Invoices paid on time Invoices paid late Value paid late (£) Percentage paid late 
			 May 2010 635 518 1,083,246 44.93 
			 June 2010 650 307 427,700 32.08 
			 July 2010 849 152 516,108 15.18 
			 August 2010 624 102 639,566 14.05 
			 September 2010 710 91 588,463 11.36 
			 October 2010 472 376 3,096,115 44.34 
			 November 2010 672 225 561,075 25.08 
			 December 2010 253 177 500,726 41.16 
			 January 2011 560 406 1,204,617 42.03 
			 February 2011 674 181 1,400,970 21.17 
		
	
	
		
			 March 2011 832 335 1,513,212 28.71 
			 April 2011 256 293 1,711,320 53.37 
			 May 2011 324 399 575,892 55.19 
			 Notes: 1. The figures provided exclude any payments made to staff. Includes all invoices received including those received from the DEFRA network and OGDs. 2. Paid late is defined as where payment did not meet prompt payment initiatives for immediate terms. This was five days with effect from 1 October 2010 and 10 days prior to that date. 3. In April 2010 CEFAS went live with a new finance system which impacted routine payment cycles. 
		
	
	
		
			 Animal Health 
			 Period Invoices paid on time Invoices paid late Value paid late  (£) Percentage paid late 
			 May 2010 137 744 1,941,414 84 
			 June 2010 253 897 2,907,024 78 
			 July 2010 450 381 1,054,239 45.8 
			 August 2010 464 387 963,308 45.5 
			 September 2010 246 385 1,169,511 61.01 
			 October 2010 796 1,066 1,519,092 57.3 
			 November 2010 593 1 2,467 0.17 
			 December 2010 467 0 0 0.00 
			 January 2011 490 0 0 0.00 
			 February 2011 250 6 18,519 1.1 
			 March 2011 682 17 46,592 2.43 
			 April 2011 479 20 12,462 4.0 
			 May 2011 509 5 36,896 1.0 
			 Notes: 1. Based on the Government’s five day prompt payment performance guidance and includes all supplier invoices. Excludes all payments to staff and other bodies. Target is 80% paid on time. 2. System issues prevented the implementation of the five day policy until November 2010. However, in the period May 2010 to October 2010, payment performance was 99.8% or better, based on meeting contractual supplier terms. 
		
	
	
		
			 Veterinary Laboratories Agency 
			 Period Invoices paid on time Invoices paid late Value paid late (£) Percentage paid late 
			 May 2010 1,912 211 417,374 9.94 
			 June 2010 2,250 326 561,866 12.66 
			 July 2010 2,353 225 239,705 8.73 
			 August 2010 2,168 221 175,096 9.25 
			 September 2010 1,972 147 291,598 6.94 
		
	
	
		
			 October 2010 1,696 523 846,871 23.57 
			 November 2010 1,741 458 655,831 20.83 
			 December 2010 1,400 511 678,357 26.74 
			 January 2011 1,352 657 1,210,229 32.70 
			 February 2011 1,693 540 4,646,573 24.18 
			 March 2011 2,356 620 4,657,810 20.83 
			 April 2011 1,050 688 1,338,250 39.59 
			 May 2011 1,186 553 754,512 31.80 
			 Note: VLA target was 10 days at the start of the year, but this was then changed to five days from October. System changes were suspended with the implementation of the move of financial systems to the DEFRA Network Shared Services. 
		
	
	
		
			 FERA 
			 Period Invoices paid on time Invoices paid late Value paid late (£) Percentage paid late 
			 May 2010 1,508 .541 Unavailable 26.40 
			 June 2010 1,594 681 Unavailable 29.93 
			 July 2010 1,869 461 Unavailable 19.79 
			 August 2010 1,499 411 Unavailable 21.52 
			 September 2010 1,599 432 Unavailable 21.27 
			 October 2010 1,687 430 Unavailable 20.31 
			 November 2010 1,640 530 Unavailable 24.42 
			 December 2010 1,610 415 Unavailable 20.49 
			 January 2011 1,178 546 Unavailable 31.67 
			 February 2011 1,894 356 Unavailable 15.82. 
			 March 2011 1,898 864 Unavailable 31.28 
			 April 2011 1,500 568 Unavailable 27.47 
			 May 2011 1,120 849 Unavailable 43.12 
			 Note: FERA is unable to separate supplier invoices/payments from other invoices/payments. Paid late is defined where payment did not meet prompt payment initiatives for immediate terms. This was five days with effect from 1 October 2010 and 10 days prior to that date.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has issued any guidance on the generation of low-carbon energy on estates owned by her Department.

Richard Benyon: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), has not issued any guidance on the generation of low-carbon energy on estates owned by her Department.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2011, Official Report, column 10W, on departmental carbon emissions, whether the sources of low-carbon energy generation on its estate were manufactured in the UK.

Richard Benyon: EU legislation dictates that all major public sector procurement requirements are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and tenders from all EU countries must be considered. This ruling limits DEFRA's ability to procure directly from the UK, but the Department can confirm that it has purchased low carbon generation technologies from the following UK companies: Proven Wind Turbines (Scotland); Quiet Revolution Wind Turbines (Wales); Solar Century Solar Voltaic Panels (England); Talbots Biomass Boilers (England).

Consultants

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on external consultants as part of the recent consultation on bovine tuberculosis.

James Paice: No money was spent on external consultants as part of the recent consultation on bovine tuberculosis.

Departmental Legal Opinion

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2011, Official Report, column 63W, on departmental legal opinion, how many prosecutions were brought as a result of the work of her Department’s legal team in the last five years; and how many convictions arose from such prosecutions.

Richard Benyon: The number of prosecutions brought as a result of the work of the Department’s legal team in the last four years (2007-08 to 2010-11) is 151. The total number of convictions arising from these prosecutions is 93.
	The answer is for the last four years rather than five because the information for 2006-07 is not readily available and the cost to obtain it would be disproportionate.

Departmental Lost Property

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what property has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from her Department in the last 12 months; and what the cost of replacement was.

Richard Benyon: Official items lost or stolen are all recorded as ‘losses’. The following table shows losses reported in DEFRA and reporting network bodies (Animal Health, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Commission for Rural Communities, Environment Agency, Marine Management Organisation, Natural England) during the period 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011.
	
		
			 Description Quantity 
			 Blackberry 8 
			 Laptop computer 25 
			 Desktop computer 3 
			 Projector 3 
		
	
	Individual replacement costs are not recorded centrally, but all the items listed above would each have had an estimated value of £100 or over at the time of loss.
	All reported incidents are investigated and if theft is suspected the matter is reported to the police. Staff are advised to report losses of equipment while out of the office to the police directly as well as to their Security Team.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent on hospitality for staff since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 19 July 2011
	The departmental policy, including for executive agencies, is not to provide any hospitality for staff. This includes refreshments at staff meetings or staff working lunches. It is possible that refreshments may be provided exceptionally for meetings with external visitors, but to identify these would incur disproportionate cost.
	All expenditure is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Departmental Photographs

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent on Ministerial (a) photoshoots and (b) videos since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: The information is as follows:
	(a) Since May 2010 DEFRA has incurred one cost of £1,350 which arose from the need for new ministerial photographs following the general election.
	(b) Since May 2010, in-house resources have been used to produce ministerial videos.

Departmental Procurement

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what provisions in respect of behavioural standards have been included in procurement contracts issued by her Department since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: The Department has followed Office for Government Commerce guidelines when drawing up new contracts since May 2010. Behavioural standards are included in clauses covering prevention of corruption, prevention of fraud, discrimination, environmental requirements, health and safety, data protection, confidentiality and security. In addition, Model Terms and Conditions for Contracts Services contain clauses covering conflict of interest and vetting procedures.

Departmental Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of procurement contracts offered by her Department have been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since the website's inception.

Richard Benyon: The Department and its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies follow the Transparency guidance issued by HM Treasury and Cabinet Office on the publication of opportunities, tenders and contracts awarded over £10,000 in value on the Contract Finder website.
	Departmental performance can be seen in the published document at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/transparency-procurement-contracting-departmental-progress.pdf

Regulation: Guidance

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what process her Department follows for the production of regulatory guidance; and how many officials of her Department were involved in the production of such guidance on the last date for which figures are available.

James Paice: DEFRA is committed to following the Better Regulation Executive's Code of Practice on Guidance on Regulation.
	Guidance is produced by policy teams across the Department, working with stakeholders and regulators. This forms an integral part of the normal processes for developing policy and is not a separate task. It is not possible therefore to identify how many officials are involved in its production.

Regulation: Guidance

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many procurement contracts her Department has awarded to small businesses since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: The central records of the Department and its Executive agencies do not yet hold accurate information of the SME status of all its suppliers. We plan to have this information by the end of the year and I will place it in the House of Commons Library at that stage.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many meetings she has had with hon. Members of each political party since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: The information requested is not held by the Department.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will consider keeping data on the number of times (a) she and (b) officials of her Department have declined a request for a meeting from an hon. Member of each political party.

Richard Benyon: We do not currently keep data on invitations to meetings that have been declined and do not plan to do so in the future.

Departmental Responsibilities

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many meetings officials of her Department have had with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the Government’s employment law review since May 2011.

Richard Benyon: This Department is fully engaged in the review of employment-related law being co-ordinated by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The Department will also be looking at ideas that emerge from the Red Tape Challenge. Relevant Ministers and officials are in contact with BIS on a regular basis in taking forward the review, for example, in relation to the Agricultural Wages Board workstream.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member of each political party was refused by (a) a Minister in her Department directly and (b) her Department on behalf of a Minister in November 2010.

Richard Benyon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 18 July 2011, Official Report, column 614W.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in her Department have been employed on contracts of (a) three to six months, (b) one to three months and (c) less than one month who have previously worked for the Department on a permanent contract in the last 12 months.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 11 July 2011
	The Department and its executive agencies have not employed any individual, in the last 12 months, on a contract of (a) three to six months, (b) one to three months or (c) less than one month, who has previously worked for the Department on a permanent contract.

Departmental Training

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent on training for Ministers since May 2010; and what the purpose was of such training.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 19 July 2011
	The Department has not spent anything on ministerial training since May 2010.

Dogs: Animal Welfare

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether her Department has any plans to bring forward proposals for the abolition of legislative exemptions on conditions for the breeding, keeping and euthanising of beagles;
	(2)  what plans her Department has to improve standards of animal welfare at beagle farms in the next four financial years;
	(3)  what her Department's policy is on standards of animal welfare at beagle farms;
	(4)  whether her Department has any plans to amend regulations on conditions of animal welfare among commercially-bred beagles.

James Paice: The standards that apply in establishments where animals are being bred for the purpose of scientific experimentation are the responsibility of the Home Office, not DEFRA. There are no plans for DEFRA to take responsibility for these establishments.
	Section 58 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (AWA) lays down that breeding establishments for animals to be used in experimentation are specifically exempted from the AWA.

Eggs: Imports

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will bring forward proposals to protect egg producers from adverse effects arising from the import of (a) food products manufactured from shell eggs produced in systems in other EU member states which do not comply with EU directives and (b) egg products manufactured from eggs produced in conventional cage production systems outside the EU.

James Paice: holding answer 14 July 2011
	The Government are totally committed to the 2012 deadline to have phased out the keeping of laying hens in conventional cages in the UK. From 1 January 2012, it will therefore be illegal to keep laying hens in conventional cages and on that basis, marketing such eggs as Class A within the UK will be against the law.
	We are not able unilaterally to prevent egg products produced from eggs in conventional cages being imported from third countries. World Trade Organisation rules do not allow members to ban imports on the grounds of the welfare standards applied in third countries.
	We have, however, been at the forefront of efforts to convince the Commission that simply relying on infraction proceedings against non-compliant member states will not be enough to deal with the negative impact that non-compliance would cause and that additional measures would need to be put in place to prevent market disturbance and to protect compliant producers. We will continue to keep up the pressure on the Commission to act and act quickly.
	We are also in the process of drawing up an enforcement strategy which we will be discussing with industry representatives and retailers and how we can best work together to take things forward.

Environment Agency: Manpower

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff the Environment Agency employs in England and Wales.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency employs 11,654 staff in England and Wales, including employment agency personnel and contractors. This compares to 13,766 members of staff (including employment agency personnel and contractors) employed during the fourth quarter of 2009-10.

EU Grants and Loans

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions her Department has had on the simplification of the application process for LEADER funding.

James Paice: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 20 July 2011, Official Report, column 1081W.

Flooding: Reading West

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment the Environment Agency has made of the risk of flooding in Reading West constituency arising from increased surface water.

Richard Benyon: Reading borough council is the lead local flood authority and is responsible for surface water flooding in the Reading West constituency. The Environment Agency continues to be responsible for managing river flooding from the main rivers.
	In 2010 the Environment Agency published a national map that identifies areas at risk from Surface Water Flooding. The EA has also been working in partnership with Reading borough council on a surface water management plan. This plan will improve understanding of local sources of flooding (including surface water) across Reading and will investigate potential options to reduce existing and future risk. The work will be completed this year.
	The EA has facilitated Reading borough council delivering a scheme to reduce surface water flooding by awarding £100,000 of funding on behalf of DEFRA. The scheme was completed in June of this year, reducing risk in the area around Kingsley Close.

Food: Oils

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to encourage the reuse of cooking oil used in the food industry.

Richard Benyon: In line with our vision of a ‘zero waste economy’, we want to increase the amount of waste cooking oils that can be recycled into other useful products where this is safe, legal and appropriate.
	We sponsored development by the Environment Agency of a ‘Quality Protocol’ for production and use of biodiesel derived from waste cooking oil and rendered animal fat. Demonstrating compliance with this Protocol shows a supplier/processor has reprocessed waste oils/fats into a quality product. The EA provides information on recyclers that have demonstrated compliance with the protocol.
	There is an exemption from the need for an environmental permit for the physical treatment of waste edible oil and fat to produce biodiesel.
	As part of our better regulation agenda, and following further consultation, it is proposed to extend the scope of the exemption to also allow for the small-scale chemical treatment of up to 250 litres in addition to the 5,000 litre limit for physical treatment. This will be introduced at the next suitable opportunity to amend the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010.
	In the Waste Review, the Government announced the development of a responsibility deal with the hospitality and food service sector to tackle food and packaging waste. We will work with businesses and trade organisations to examine the scope for including the reuse of cooking oil as a part of this agreement.

Food: Procurement

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the written statement of 16 June 2011, Official Report, columns 77-78WS, on Food and Catering Services (Government Buying Standards), what estimate her Department has made of the costs of implementing and maintaining its policy that fish will be procured from certifiably sustainable sources from September 2011.

Richard Benyon: Overfishing is the most widespread and significant human pressure on marine wildlife and habitats. Many fish stocks are overexploited globally, with the Food and Agricultural Organisation reporting in 2010 that 32% of stocks are overexploited, depleted or recovering. A further 53% of stocks are fully exploited, with the rest under or moderately exploited.
	Within the North East Atlantic (in 2011), 63% of stocks are overexploited, and 37% are at or below their maximum sustainable yield.
	It is therefore very important that we lead by example in procuring sustainable fish and I believe that a 100% target is fully achievable.
	We have estimated that around 60% of fish procured by central Government is demonstrably sustainable. To increase this to 100%, based upon an assumed 5% price premium for sustainably-sourced fish, the cost of implementing and maintaining this criteria is estimated to be:
	Approximately £227,000 per annum where the food procured is taxpayer-funded (prisons, MOD operational and so on);
	Approximately £95,000 per annum where the food procured is customer-funded (central Government Department staff restaurants).
	Two caveats apply here:
	These are undiscounted costs. A discount rate of 3.5% per annum is usually used in the appraisal of Government policy, so as to allow an accurate comparison of costs and benefits which occur in different years;
	The latter figures do not take into account a possible demand response, though this is likely to be relatively small.

Glass: Recycling

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to maximise the rate of recycling into glass of glass collected directly from households.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 19 July 2011
	In the Review of Waste Policy in England, published in June, the Government stated their intention to consult on amending the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 (as amended) to establish a sub-target for recycling glass back into glass.

Hill Farming

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate she has made of the average annual income of hill farmers in England.

James Paice: The majority of hill farmers in England are classified as those grazing livestock in the Less Favoured Area (LFA). The most recent data from the Farm Business Survey were published in October 2010 and indicate that average Farm Business Income for this farm type was £22,000 for 2009-10. Initial forecasts for 2010-11, published in January 2011, suggest this figure is likely to have fallen to £14,500 due to higher input prices and a lower output from beef enterprises. Actual survey results for 2010-11 will be published on 27 October 2011.

Hill Farming: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many former Hill Farm Allowance applicants are now participating in uplands entry level stewardship; and how many are in receipt of the uplands transitional payment.

James Paice: There were 7,009 eligible claims for the Hill Farm Allowance (HFA) in 2010. An initial analysis of uptake up to mid-January 2011 shows that of these claims 2,503 were receiving Uplands Entry Level Stewardship (Uplands ELS) and 2,099 were receiving Uplands Transitional Payment (UTP). The analysis will be published this week on DEFRA's website.
	A further analysis will be undertaken once a full year's Uplands ELS uptake data are available in July. This will give a fuller picture of how former HFA claimants are participating in either UTP or Uplands ELS. It is expected that this will show a further increase in the proportion of HFA 2010 recipients with a live Uplands ELS agreement; between mid-January and mid-June the number of live Uplands ELS agreements increased by 29% to 4,590.

Houseboats

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the policy objectives in respect of boat dwellers are of the Government's proposed amendment to schedule 5 of the Public Bodies Bill in respect of British Waterways; and what powers British Waterways (a) has and (b) is proposed to have in respect of summary eviction.

Richard Benyon: There is no proposed amendment to Schedule 5 of the Public Bodies Bill. However, an amendment was tabled during the passage of the Bill in the House of Lords, and passed (forming Note 1 of Schedule 5 to the Bill). The purpose of that amendment was not to seek the enhancement of any of the British Waterways Board's existing powers but to enable the proposed New Waterways Charity to receive the British Waterways Board's existing important statutory and regulatory functions. If the amendment had not been made, other provisions in the Bill would unintentionally have prevented that from happening.
	Under section 8 of the British Waterways Act 1983, sunk, stranded or abandoned vessels or vessels moored without lawful authority on the waterways may only be removed by the British Waterways Board after due process including giving any required notice and periods of grace. Wherever a vessel is identified as being someone's home, British Waterways does not exercise its powers under section 8 without having taken the matter to the County Court and obtained a declaration from the Court that the removal is lawful. These long-held powers operate in the interests of the waterways and their users. The Government does not intend to amend or expand them when they are transferred to the proposed New Waterways Charity.

Ivory

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking (a) through international organisations and (b) at EU level to implement the commitment in the coalition agreement to press for a ban on ivory sales.

Richard Benyon: The UK is working with EU partners, other countries and non-governmental organisations, to develop a robust and highly precautionary line to take in discussions on the development of that decision-making mechanism. This will be one of the key areas of discussion at the forthcoming convention on international trade in endangered species Standing Committee meeting, which takes place next month in Geneva.
	The global ban on the international commercial sale of ivory, agreed by parties to CITES in 1989, remains in place.
	Nevertheless, at the 14th CITES conference of the parties in 2007, it was agreed that a decision-making mechanism for any future sales would be developed by 2013.

Ivory

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding the UK provides (a) directly and (b) through the EU for elephant protection in (i) Africa and (ii) Asia.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA supports elephant protection by funding conservation projects in Africa and Asia directly, via the Darwin Initiative, and through trade controls applied under the Convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES).
	The Government have made tackling illegal trafficking in wildlife a priority and this year we are providing £30,000 towards a CITES programme which monitors the illegal killing of elephants (MIKE). We are also providing £35,000 towards the running of the international Union for Conservation of Nature's African Elephant Specialist Group which works closely with African states to protect elephant populations. We will also provide £90,000 to an Interpol project to help African states improve their enforcement capacity and elephant (and rhino) protection.
	We are currently funding three Darwin Initiative projects contributing to elephant conservation totalling approximately £495,000 over three years, and another project worth £240,000, that will fund improvements to the elephant trade information system database which monitors all illegal seizures of ivory around the world. In addition, the UK has funded wider international projects that will protect the habitats of forest-dwelling elephants by combating deforestation and illegal logging (for example, in the Congo Basin and South East Asia).
	The UK also contributes to the EU budget which in turn provides significant funding to CITES activities on elephant issues. This work includes a meeting in November 2010 that brought together African countries to discuss elephant conservation, and the MIKE programme in Africa (€10 million over the last five years), as well as several wider projects on forest conservation.

Ivory

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in protecting elephants.

Richard Benyon: In its role as the UK management authority for the convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES), DEFRA works with other CITES parties, the CITES secretariat and non-governmental organisations, particularly through our position on the CITES Standing Committee, to review the convention's delivery of its purpose and resolutions and decisions agreed by the parties. There is a raft of strong resolutions and decisions calling for action on elephants, and delivery of these is reviewed at annual Standing Committee meetings as well as at triennial conferences of the parties. The UK takes a keen interest in this area and will continue to do so at the forthcoming Standing Committee in August.

Landfill

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish on her Department's website a summary of responses to the consultation on the introduction of restrictions on the landfilling of certain wastes.

Richard Benyon: We published the “Summary of responses to the consultation on the introduction of restrictions on the landfilling of certain wastes (18 March - 10 June 2010)” on our website in September 2010.
	However, consultations and their associated documents are only held on the DEFRA website for a year after the consultation document is first published. The consultation paper and related materials, including the associated summary of responses, remain on the National Archives website.

Materials

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she made of the resource risks to businesses from the security of supply of (a) lithium, (b) tin, (c) lead, (d) copper, (e) rare earth metals, (f) phosphorus, (g) cobalt metals and (h) indium.

James Paice: The eight resources identified were assessed as part of a DEFRA research report: ‘Review of the Future Resource Risks faced by UK Business and an Assessment of Future Viability’, published in December 2010, available on the DEFRA website.
	DEFRA has committed to publish an action plan on resource security to assist businesses with strategic risk management and the recovery of critical resources. The research findings are feeding into the development of the action plan.

Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to (a) review and (b) revise the list of species published under section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.

Richard Benyon: There are 943 species of principal importance included on the section 41 list which was last updated in August 2010. We currently have no plans to review or revise the list.

Primates: Pets

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of primates kept as pets in England.

James Paice: Estimates of the numbers of primates kept by private ownership in England vary considerably. The working group that drafted the Code of Practice on the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-Human Primates estimated the number to be between 900 and 1,600, and used the mid-range figure of 1,200 in calculations (held by an estimated 300 private owners, i.e. not zoos or rescue centres).
	During consultation on the code, several respondents provided alternative higher estimates based on some Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 licences issued and sales figures of primates. From the consultation's summary, most respondents estimated that there were between 1,500 and 7,500. We acknowledge that numbers of primates in private hands is difficult to estimate, but we have used the figure of 1,200 to 5,000 to demonstrate the sort of costs owners might be expected to meet, as a result of the code.

Procurement

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the annual value is of her Department's current contracts in each sector in which contracts are held.

Richard Benyon: The annual value of current contracts may vary from year to year. To collect this annual value data for the core department and its executive agencies for each current contract and to identify each master category to which the contract relates would incur disproportionate cost.
	The Department and its executive agencies and non departmental public bodies follow the transparency guidance issued by HM Treasury and Cabinet Office on the publication of opportunities, tenders and contracts awarded over £10,000 in value on the Contract Finder website.

Recycling

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many recycling centres there have been in each of the last 10 years; and how many such centres have closed since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: The following table provides a breakdown of the total number of recycling centres in England since 2005-06. The information is drawn from data provided by local authorities to DEFRA’s WasteDataFlow system which does not hold earlier figures.
	www.wastedataflow.org
	The collation of WasteDataFlow data for the 2010-11 financial year has not yet been completed. Although there has been no formal research into site closures, decreases in the number of sites are likely to reflect increases in kerbside recycling collections reducing demand for sites, and also local priorities for resource allocation. Any specific reason would be a matter for individual authorities, and inquiries should be directed to them.
	The Department does not hold information about the number of recycling centres that have closed since May 2010.
	
		
			  Recycling centres 
			 2005-06 808 
			 2006-07 782 
			 2007-08 744 
			 2008-09 739 
			 2009-10 756

Reservoirs

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what applications for the construction of reservoirs in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland are pending where the proposed nation to which the water will be supplied is to be different from the source; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: I am not aware of any existing or proposed application for the construction of such a reservoir in England. Applications to Scottish or Welsh planning authorities are matters for those authorities or the Scottish or Welsh Governments where appropriate.

Rights of Way

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential effects on landowners of rights of way over their land.

Richard Benyon: The Secretary of State has not carried out any formal assessment of the potential effects on landowners of public rights of way over their land. However, an independent Farming Regulation Task Force, chaired by Richard Macdonald, published a report in May on reducing the regulatory burden on landowners and it included various recommendations to DEFRA in relation to public rights of way. The Government will consider the report's recommendations carefully, and will provide an initial public response and parliamentary statement this autumn.

Rivers: Chalk Streams

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for river environment restoration of chalk streams (a) nationally and (b) in Hertfordshire.

Richard Benyon: As announced in the Natural Environment White Paper the Government intends to take steps to tackle the legacy of unsustainable abstraction more efficiently. Further details will be included in the Water White Paper.
	The chalk streams in Hertfordshire suffer from low flows as a result of over abstraction. These are located on the Rivers Stort, Ash, Rib, Beane and Mimram. Through the Environment Agency's (EA) Restoring Sustainable Abstraction programme it is seeking to improve flows in these rivers and working with Veolia Water Central and a number of experts to establish how much water we need in these rivers to support good ecological status.
	The EA is also undertaking habitat restoration where it has identified opportunities for improvement. For example, the removal of barriers to fish migration is a key element of delivering the Water Framework Directive and the EA has identified a programme of improvements over the next three years on the Rivers Beane and Rib.
	To help protect and improve chalk stream habitats the EA works closely with other organisations, including the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, which has a chalk stream project officer in place to deliver improvements within the catchments.

Rivers: Kayakers

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has any plans to change river access rights for kayakers.

Richard Benyon: We have no plans to legislate to change the access rights for kayakers and canoeists, and remain committed to the use of locally agreed, voluntary, access agreements as the means of increasing river access for non-powered craft. This fits very well with the Big Society agenda as it will give access where it is needed and meet the needs of all users and interested parties.

Rural Areas

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the Government's Growth Review in relation to rural communities.

Richard Benyon: The Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs has had recent discussions on the Rural Economy Growth Review with the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), through the course of normal business. Officials from both Departments have also met regularly to advance the Review, including through a cross-Departmental Project Board which met for the first time on 11 July.

Rural Communities Policy Unit

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many civil servants are employed in the Rural Communities Policy Unit; and where they are based.

Richard Benyon: The Rural Communities Policy Unit currently has 31 staff and is also able to draw upon dedicated support from DEFRA economists and social researchers. Eighteen of the unit's staff are based in London, 10 in Bristol and three in York.

Rural Development Programme

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the level of demand for funding available through the Rural Development Programme for England to support upland farming.

James Paice: We continue to monitor uptake of all agri-environment schemes, including Uplands Entry Level Stewardship (Uplands ELS). Uptake of Uplands ELS currently stands at 4,600 agreements or 708,200 hectares of land in the Severely Disadvantaged Area.
	In maximising the use of EU funds, and through the spending review settlement, we have successfully maintained planned levels of spend on agri-environment at above £400 million per annum. Within this amount, we remain committed to maximising uptake for Uplands ELS and have ensured that funding is available to enable all eligible famers to enter the scheme. Uplands ELS uptake is currently limited by the area of land that remains in Countryside Stewardship and Environmentally Sensitive Area agreements. These will be eligible to renew into Uplands ELS (and also in many cases Higher Level Stewardship) as agreements expire between now and 2015. We are working with Natural England to maximise such renewals.
	As announced in the Uplands Policy Review on 10 March, the Government are working to develop an ‘uplands theme' for Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) delivery for the rest of the programme and will be discussing what this needs to deliver with industry representatives. In addition, some priority is being given to helping those Leader Local Action Groups (LAG) in uplands areas continue to deliver against their Local Development Strategies. The LAG and DEFRA RDPE delivery team will discuss and agree how best to deliver this support at the local level, based on demand and performance criteria.

Rural Development Programme: Yorkshire and the Humber

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding is available to the Yorkshire and the Humber region under the Rural Development Programme for England.

James Paice: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 20 July 2011, Official Report, columns 1083-84W.

Satellites: Technology

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to what extent her Department uses earth observation satellite technology in developing policy on (a) marine and agricultural monitoring, (b) resource management, (c) urban plannings, (d) biodiversity and nature conservation and (e) infectious disease risk management; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of earth observation satellite technology in each policy area.

Richard Benyon: My Department uses Earth Observation (EO) across a number of policy areas and also operationally within some arm’s length bodies.
	(a) In the marine and agricultural monitoring areas examples include monitoring marine water quality, specifically algal blooms concentrations and extent. Annual cross compliance checks on agricultural subsidies claims are carried out by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) using satellite imagery.
	(b) Satellite technology is used within the resource management processes by the Forestry Commission to create their UK forestry inventory. The Environment Agency has used satellite imagery in flooding management situations, such as the Tewkesbury floods in 2007.
	(c) Urban planning is the responsibility of Department for Communities and Local Government and local authorities.
	(d) Within the policy areas of biodiversity and nature conservation earth observation provides the source information for the UK Land Cover Map (LCM) and Countryside Survey. Examples of the Department uses of LCM data include generation of summary statistics of the extent broad habitats types, habitat distribution and connectivity, ecological modelling and assessments and animal disease transmission.
	(e) FERA has used EO as an input to improve their understanding of plant disease and in particular “Phytophthora ramorum” modelling.
	Within the wider context of earth observation, DEFRA leads the UK contribution on the EU earth monitoring programme, Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). The Department places a strong emphasis on meeting user needs within GMES and runs a number of ‘Network Groups’ to support the programme within the domains of Land, Marine, Atmosphere, Climate Change and Emergency' Response. These cross-community groups provide the Department with a platform for active consideration of the effectiveness and the potential of earth observation satellite technology in each associated policy area, both in the context of GMES and earth observation more widely. This is supplemented by a specialist forum which is co-chaired by JNCC and DEFRA.

Sewage: Waste Disposal

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria she plans to use to determine whether a septic tank qualifies for an exemption from a permit to discharge under the Environmental Permitting Programme Second Phase regulations.

Richard Benyon: Unless it is located close to sensitive environmental sites, including drinking water abstraction boreholes, only a septic tank discharging two cubic metres per day or less to groundwater need to be registered. If the tank is discharging more than two cubic meters per day, it would require a permit. Also, if it is located close to a sensitive site then a permit is required. The Environment Agency considers applications on a case by case basis to ensure there will be no adverse environmental impact guidance for on the requirements of the regulations for sewage discharges from septic tanks can be found on the Environment Agency website.

Sewage: Waste Disposal

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the penalty is for failure to register with the Environment Agency the discharge of sewage effluent from a septic tank under the Environmental Permitting Programme Second Phase regulations.

Richard Benyon: Owners of septic tanks that discharge to ground do not legally need to be registered until 1 January 2012. There will therefore be no penalties before this date. After this date, the owner would be committing an offence under the Environmental Permitting Regulations if they do not have a registration or a permit. The Environment Agency will advise owners who do not have a registration or permit that they are committing an offence, and that they must apply for a registration at their earliest convenience. Further action will be considered on a case by case basis.
	DEFRA is currently working closely with the Environment Agency to consider whether the current approach or an alternative one is the most appropriate.

Sewage: Waste Disposal

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance her Department plans to provide to householders required to register sewage discharge from a septic tank under the Environmental Permitting Programme Second Phase regulations.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency is responsible for implementing and administering the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010. Guidance for householders on the requirements of these regulations for sewage discharges from septic tanks can be found online at:
	http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/water/default.aspx
	DEFRA is currently working closely with the Environment Agency to check whether the approach is the most appropriate and whether there might be opportunities for further simplification.

Sustainable Development: EU Action

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to respond to the European Commission Communication on the Rio 2012 Conference on Sustainable Development, COM(2011) 363.

James Paice: The Communication sets out the European Commission's initial views on what it thinks should be agreed at the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, 4-6 June 2102. It is a staff working document, and its contents have not been agreed outside the Commission. In October the Environment Council is expected to agree Conclusions on Rio+20, and the UK will be fully involved in the negotiating process leading up to those Conclusions being adopted. The Communication is the Commission's contribution to that process.

Trade Unions

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether any staff of her Department are entitled to work full-time on trade union activities while receiving a departmental salary.

Richard Benyon: There are 10 members of staff in the Department (six in core DEFRA and four in the executive agencies) who are currently engaged in full-time trade union activities and whose salary is paid by the Department.
	The total salary cost of full-time TU representatives in 2011-12 is forecast to be
	£356,927, consisting of:
	Core DEFRA—£249,350
	AHVLA—£25,903
	RPA—£81,674.
	The total salary cost of full-time TU representatives in 2010-11 was £564,821, consisting of:
	Core DEFRA—£457,244
	AHVLA—£25,903
	RPA—£81,674.

Waste

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what timetable she has set for the development of her Department's waste prevention programme.

Richard Benyon: The waste prevention programme, as required by the revised EU waste framework directive, will be in place by December 2013.

Waste Management

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department has recently examined the appropriateness of siting waste management sites which use mechanical and biological treatment in residential areas.

Richard Benyon: Determining the location and type of new waste infrastructure is a matter for local authorities. Development plans set the framework for development in a local authority area, including what new waste infrastructure is needed and where it should go. In turn, these plans help the authority determine planning applications. The Environment Agency, in its role as a statutory consultee to the planning system, advises local authorities on development plans and planning applications to ensure protection of the environment and human health. This is done through its role as a planning consultee and helps to minimise the impact of waste facilities on the environment and human health.

Water Companies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many complaints her Department has received concerning each water utility company in each of the last five years.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA does not hold a central register of complaints concerning water companies. To produce a definitive list would involve disproportionate cost.

Water Companies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking in relation to geographical monopolies by water utility companies.

Richard Benyon: The Water White Paper, due to be published by December 2011, will look at the recommendations made by Professor Martin Cave in his independent review of competition and innovation in water markets to apply more competitive pressure to the sector. The Water White Paper will cover the geographical areas of the water companies that are wholly or mainly in England.

Water Companies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to simplify comparisons between the charges of water utility companies for (a) product and (b) installation costs.

Richard Benyon: Ofwat is the economic regulator of the water and sewerage sectors in England and Wales. Its leaflet “Your water and sewerage bill 2011-12” sets out the charges for each water company in England and Wales.
	A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Wood: Recycling

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are in place to ensure that individuals are protected from pollution caused by wood recycling; and what assessment she has made of the risk to the public from carcinogens in wood dust.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 19 July 2011
	The treatment and recycling of waste wood may only be carried out in accordance with an environmental permit issued by the Environment Agency or within the rules laid down in an exemption from the need for a permit for chipping, shredding, cutting or pulverising non-hazardous waste wood. The permitting and exemption controls are in place in order to prevent harm to human health and the environment from the recovery and disposal of waste.
	The Health and Safety Executive has published an information sheet on its website on the hazards and precautions associated with wood dust in the workplace.

Yorkshire Dales National Park

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the consultation process on altering the Yorkshire Dales National Park boundaries.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 25 July 2011
	In accordance with section 7 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, Natural England must consult with every local authority and parish council which has land in the area to be designated a National Park, as well as every local authority, parish council and the National Park Authority with land in any National Park whose boundaries are proposed to be varied. Natural England's total consultation costs for consulting with statutory consultees and the general public on proposed extensions to the boundaries of both the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District National Parks is just under £100,000 to March 2011 of which 50% is attributable to the Yorkshire Dales.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Disability: Young People

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to update the system of disability assessments for young disabled people.

Maria Miller: Personal independence payment will replace disability living allowance for working-age (16-64) adults from 2013 and a new, more objective assessment is being designed to gather information about adult needs. We want to build on the experience of developing an assessment and applying it to new and existing claimants of working-age to inform our decisions about the arrangements for children. Therefore we will not consider extending personal independence payment to new claims from children or to children already receiving DLA, until we have had an opportunity to consider the effectiveness of the new arrangements for working age people. We will consult on any substantive changes to the arrangements for children and regulations on this issue will be subject to the scrutiny of the House.
	In developing the arrangements for children on DLA we also want to take account of ongoing work across Government to review more broadly the wide range of support for disabled young people. The Department for Education's Green Paper "Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability", published on 10 March, sets out the Government's aspiration to move towards a single assessment process for a child's social care, health and special educational needs. The Department for Education plan to test the approach starting this year and we will look at the findings of the pathfinders to explore whether the single assessment process might also be used to support claims for disability living allowance and personal independence payment.

Employment Services: British Sign Language

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport the potential assistance of a universal video relay service to British Sign Language users in finding and maintaining employment.

Maria Miller: Supporting disabled people, including those with a hearing impairment, into employment is a critical role for Government. Liz Sayce has undertaken an independent review of employment support available for disabled people and her report—Getting in, staying in and getting on—was published on 9 June. A full Government response and consultation was published on 11 July.
	DWP provides a range of services and technology to enable communication for people who are speech or hearing impaired to support them in finding employment. These include Textphones, TexBox, Type-Talk and induction loops.
	We are happy to explore how our services might be further improved. This may include exploration, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, of the potential assistance of a universal video reply service. Any such exploration would need to take into account any mandate from Ofcom in relation to relay services for telecommunications, as well as the benefits and costs of video relay technology in delivering our services for disabled people.

Housing Benefit: Disability

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will consider exempting disabled tenants in adapted properties from his proposed reductions in the level of housing benefit where they have a spare bedroom.

Steve Webb: We are aware of concerns about the impact on some disabled people in adapted properties of our proposals to limit housing benefit for social sector tenants who are under-occupying their accommodation. We are looking at potential ways to limit the impact of these changes for this group.

TRANSPORT

Sky TV

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on subscriptions to Sky TV since May 2010.

Norman Baker: The Department has spent £1,864.76 on subscriptions to Sky TV since May 2010. This compares with £2,743.13 in the financial year 2009-10. The central Department's subscription to Sky TV was cancelled in December 2010. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency continues to subscribe to the basic Sky TV package to enable them to view regional news coverage of incidents.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many meetings he has had with hon. Members of each political party since May 2010;
	(2)  if he will consider keeping data on the number of times (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have declined a request for a meeting from an hon. Member of each political party.

Norman Baker: I regret that the information requested is not held in the format requested.
	The Department receives a large number of invitations from all sources and we do not consider that keeping records of the number of times that meeting requests are declined would be value for money or practical.
	It is my general policy to accede to all requests for meetings requested by hon. Members, irrespective of party allegiance, unless there are exceptional reasons not to do so.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking in respect of drivers from overseas who are uninsured.

Michael Penning: All drivers using roads in the UK must have at least third party insurance covering the use of their vehicle in this country. Under EU law all insurance policies issued in any EU member state must include the use of that vehicle for minimum third party risks for temporary visits to all EU member states.
	Drivers must be able to produce evidence that they have the necessary insurance cover in place on request from the police.

Motorways: Wildlife

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to protect wildlife crossing motorways.

Michael Penning: The Highways Agency is responsible for the Strategic Road Network (SRN) in England, which includes motorways. The agency undertakes works to mitigate the impact of its operational, maintenance and improvement works, including the provision for wildlife crossing the network, and to reduce the risk of animals being killed or injured on the network.
	Mitigation measures include tunnels, culverts, underpasses, adapted farm crossings and species specific structures such as bat bridges. Appropriate fencing and planting may be included to encourage use of the crossings and/or to integrate them within the surrounding environment. The agency also undertakes research to support the development of advice in relation to the effectiveness of such measures.
	Further advice on mitigating this issue, is published within the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, and this is available online at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/ha/standards/dmrb/index.htm

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of when the first Future Carrier will be operational; and when it will be able to deploy fast jet aircraft from its deck.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what date he expects the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers to be equipped with Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.

Peter Luff: The date that the operational Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier enters service with the Royal Navy will depend on which ship will be converted to operate the carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter. This in turn will inform when fast jets will be deployed from the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. We expect firm decisions to be taken on carrier conversion in late 2012 and it remains our intent to deliver a carrier strike capability from around 2020.

Aircraft Carriers

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether planned adjustments to the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers will make them compatible with French Rafale aircraft.

Peter Luff: The conversion of the operational Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier will allow the more capable carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter to be operated. The change in aircraft launch and recovery equipment will offer improved levels of interoperability with our allies' aircraft, including the French Rafale. Further work on interoperability will be undertaken as part of our conversion investigations, which are expected to conclude in late 2012.

Armed Forces: Gurkhas

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to equalising continuation of services rights for Gurkhas serving in the armed forces; and what discussions he has had on this matter with representatives of Gurkha and former Gurkha groups.

Nick Harvey: None, because following implementation of the 2007 review of Gurkha Terms and Conditions of Service (TACOS), Gurkhas have served on the same TACOS as the rest of the British Army, including the regulations applying to continuance of service.
	A survey of the views of serving members of the Brigade of Gurkhas was conducted during the course of the 2007 Gurkha TACOS review. There was also wide consultation among organisations representing the ex-Gurkha community.

Challenger Weapons

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what plans he has to upgrade the Challenger weapons system;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the future of the Challenger weapons system.

Peter Luff: The Challenger 2 main battle tank provides the Army's principal organic precision direct fire capability. The strategic defence and security review set out an enduring requirement for this capability in the future.
	The Challenger 2 capability sustainment programme is currently in the concept phase. We expect to take a decision on the assessment phase around the middle of the decade.

Defence Board

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when meetings of the Defence Board are scheduled to occur in the period to May 2015.

Liam Fox: I currently plan to chair Defence Boards on the following dates this year:
	16 September
	21 October
	16 December.
	As you might expect, the dates for these meetings are subject to change if required.
	In addition I plan to hold a further strategy awayday for the Board in the autumn. The date for this is being finalised.
	Details of meetings for 2012 and beyond will be published nearer the time.

Defence Board

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to make the minutes of the Defence Board meetings available to hon. Members.

Liam Fox: The Ministry of Defence will routinely publish Defence Board agendas, unclassified summaries of conclusions, meeting dates, and lists of papers taken by the Board.

Defence: Procurement

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to encourage the use of UK small and medium-sized enterprises in its projects; and what account he takes of such steps in implementing a strategy of buying supplies off-the-shelf.

Nick Harvey: In the Defence and Security sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are often an important source of research and innovation, as well as offering adaptability and flexibility. The Government recognises that SMEs face a number of challenges when looking to supply goods and services to the Government. The forthcoming White Paper on Equipment, Support and Technology for UK Defence and Security will set out how the Government will encourage and enable SMEs to participate more fully in these sectors.

Defence: Procurement

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with which partners and suppliers his Department is working; and on which projects.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence let around 22,000 contracts last year and uses over 30,000 suppliers, ranging in size from large multi-nationals to micro-enterprises, details of which are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. We do, however, publish a list of our largest suppliers each year in Table 1.17 of “UK Defence Statistics”. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Air Travel

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what occasions he has flown on official business (a) by budget airline and (b) in economy class in the last 12 months.

Liam Fox: I have not flown on official business on a budget airline.
	On 23 May 2011 I flew in economy class from Tampa to Washington DC.

Departmental Correspondence

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of each item of correspondence his Department has received from Ministers in HM Treasury in respect of its RAF basing review.

Liam Fox: No. To do so would be prejudicial to the maintenance of the collective responsibility of Ministers of the Crown.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his Department's budget has been spent on (a) munitions, (b) urgent operational requirements, (c) personnel, (d) equipment, (e) major projects and (f) office costs since October 2010.

Liam Fox: The following table shows the spend between 1 October 2010 and 31 March 2011 on munitions, administration costs (excluding personnel), major projects, equipment and equipment support, and personnel, as a proportion of the total annual Defence budget for 2010-11.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			 Munitions 0.27 
			 Administration Costs (excl. personnel) 0.55 
			 Major Projects 2.12 
			 Equipment and Equipment Support 17.08 
			 Personnel 18.49 
		
	
	Urgent operational requirements (UORs) are not funded from the Defence budget but from the Governmental Special Reserve. The cost to the reserve of UORs from 1 October 2010 to 31 March 2011 was £321 million.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his Department’s budget has been spent on (a) operational costs for theatres of engagement and (b) running costs associated with offices, staff, training and logistics since October 2010.

Liam Fox: For the purpose of answering this question, I have taken ‘running costs’ to be the Ministry of Defence’s administrative costs regime, (ACR) which includes the costs of major headquarters and spend in certain categories such as office accommodation and travel and subsistence. The proportion of the 2010-11 annual Defence budget covered by the ACR between 1 October 2010 and 31 March 2011 was 3.01%.
	The operational costs for theatres of engagement are not funded from the Defence budget but from the governmental special reserve. £1,458 million was charged to the reserve for the operating costs for operations (excluding capital costs) in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya from 1 October 2010 to 31 March 2011.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will consider keeping data on the number of times (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have declined a request for a meeting from an hon. Member of each political party.

Liam Fox: No.

Departmental Travel

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on travel since May 2010.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) spent some £190 million on travel and subsistence between May 2010 and May 2011.
	This figure includes, for both service and civilian staff, the cost of travel and accommodation booked centrally, the reimbursement of expenses incurred when using their own vehicle for duty journeys, most rail fares not booked centrally and some car hire costs. The figures also include expenses reimbursed to civilian staff for overnight accommodation, subsistence, taxi, bus and underground fares, parking charges and road tolls, and most of their air fares not booked centrally. Costs of the MOD’s White Fleet are not included as they are not recorded on a monthly basis; however, we estimate that White Fleet contract and fuel costs averaged around £4.5 million a month. The figures also do not include all travel and subsistence costs reimbursed to service personnel, but we are currently improving the accessibility of these in the interests of transparency.
	By whatever means staff travel, they must do so in a way that is the most economical in both money and official time.
	I apologise for the delay in providing this information.

Departmental Travel

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on first class rail fares for (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers since May 2010.

Andrew Robathan: Since 12 May 2010, the Department has spent £3,720.01 on ministerial first class rail travel in the UK. No departmental funds have been spent on first class rail travel for special advisers since that date.

Equipment: Defence

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the future use of equipment purchased under recent urgent operational requirements; and what his policy is on the future use or disposal of such equipment.

Peter Luff: Defence Ministers and officials have frequent discussions with colleagues from HM Treasury on a range of issues including equipment capability procured under Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) procedures.
	UOR equipment is routinely reviewed after 12 months of initial deployment or at the end of the operation for which it was procured, whichever is sooner. If it is judged to have future utility to Defence, it may be taken into the core programme. Where a capability is judged to be effective for the operation but has no future utility to Defence, it is supported for the length of the operation. If a capability is no longer required it is either run into obsolescence while it retains limited utility, or is disposed of. We are currently assessing which UOR equipment capabilities have enduring utility.

European Fighter Aircraft: Pilots

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of Typhoon pilots are trained to engage ground targets.

Nick Harvey: Currently, 61% of UK qualified Typhoon pilots are trained to engage ground targets. The Typhoon force has a sufficient number of pilots trained to engage ground targets for current operations.

Future Force 2020

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many infantry battalions will be required for Future Force 2020;
	(2)  how many infantry battalions will be required under Force 2020.

Nick Harvey: As the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox) said in his statement to the House on 18 July 2011, Official Report, columns 643-45, there will be a progressive adjustment to the regular/reserve balance of the Army as the capabilities of the Territorial Army improve in order to better meet the adaptable posture set out in the strategic defence and security review. This adjustment will require changes to the planned structures of the Army and work is now under way to define the detail. Before this work is complete it would be inappropriate to comment on the exact composition of Future Force 2020.

Libya

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on transport of equipment during operations in Libya; and what modes of transport have been engaged.

Nick Harvey: The majority of Operation Ellamy freight has been moved by RAF military transport vehicles at a cost of some £700,000; this has been supplemented by commercial road haulage at a cost of some £250,000.
	Similarly, the majority of movements of equipment by air have been by RAF C17 and C130 aircraft at a total cost of some £61.8 million. This was supplemented by commercial charter at a cost of some £460,000.
	No sealift support has been used for Operation Ellamy.

Libya

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision his Department is making for extended operations in Libya.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence routinely plans for a wide range of operational scenarios.

Libya

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the effects of operations in Libya on military capabilities.

Liam Fox: holding answer 18 July 2011
	As the Chief of Defence Staff said on 14 June 2011:
	“We can sustain this operation as long as we choose to. I am absolutely clear on that.”
	Events in Libya have confirmed the Strategic Defence and Security Review decisions to adopt an adaptable posture with flexible forces—we can conduct a wide range of operations at considerable distance from the UK and we retain high readiness forces for air and naval operations. The outstanding work of our armed forces in Operation Ellamy demonstrates that the UK remains able to project power and influence.

Libya: Aircraft Carriers

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on the use by UK aircraft of foreign airfields for operations in Libya; and if he will estimate the comparable cost for the use of an aircraft carrier.

Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Member to the letter I sent to the hon. Member for Isle of Wight (Mr Turner) on 7 July 2011, Official Report, columns 1355-56W.

Libya: Armed Conflict

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of operations in Libya on the UK's standing defence commitments.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence has assessed that current operations in Libya are not impacting on the UK's standing defence commitments.
	The strategic defence and security review (SDSR) set out the need to retain high-readiness forces, including air and naval operations, which provide for the possibility of a military response to a wide range of potential crises, alongside continuing to fulfil our standing commitments. Events in Libya have confirmed the validity of the SDSR decision to adopt an adaptable posture with flexible forces.
	The outstanding work of our armed forces in Operation Ellamy demonstrates that the UK remains able to project power and influence.

Maritime Environment

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the reports titled (a) Maritime Environment and (b) Air Environment, referred to in section 2.7 of the National Audit Office report on Carrier Strike, HC 1092.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence does not intend to place the reports in the Library of the House as their release would be prejudicial to effective conduct of public affairs.

Mull of Kintyre Review

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his oral statement of 13 July 2011, on the Mull of Kintyre review, whether he plans to meet the families affected to discuss the findings of the review.

Liam Fox: holding answer 18 July 2011
	I was glad to have the opportunity to speak to members of the families most affected by the findings of the review on the day of publication.

Nimrod MRA4 Aircraft

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated further costs are of decommissioning the Nimrod MRA4 aircraft.

Peter Luff: A settlement has been reached with BAE Systems for all of the terminated Nimrod MRA4 contracts. I am withholding the value of this settlement as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.
	It is not yet possible to estimate what the final costs or receipts will be for dismantling and disposing of the Nimrod MRA4 aircraft.
	However, the decision not to bring the Nimrod MRA4 into service is expected to save around £2 billion over the next 10 years.

Redundancy

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what roles in his Department are being removed as part of the redundancy programme; and what steps he is taking to maintain the delivery of his Department’s functions during and following implementation of reductions in staff numbers.

Liam Fox: Where specific capabilities have been removed under the strategic defence and security review, such as Type 22 Frigates, Harrier, and Nimrod MRA4 aircraft, the roles linked solely to the delivery of those capabilities are being removed. Some personnel previously in those roles will be reallocated to other functions. Reductions will be targeted at specific ranks, trades and branches where we currently have more personnel than we will need to support the future structure and capability, or where there is an imbalance in numbers.
	We will direct, co-ordinate and drive forward implementation of all the changes to force structures, our organisation and the way we work through the Defence transformation programme. This is being taken forward under the direction of Mr Jonathan Slater, the newly appointed director general for transformation and corporate strategy, overseen by the Defence Transformation Board that I chair.

Royal Air Force

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent additional resources he has allocated to the (a) Royal Air Force and (b) Royal Navy for commitments in Libya.

Nick Harvey: Any additional costs incurred by the Ministry of Defence as a result of operations in Libya are charged to the special Treasury Reserve. Operations are co-ordinated and undertaken jointly. As a result, these costs are not readily broken down by service.

South Sudan: Military Aid

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide a small military training and technical team to the Government of Southern Sudan to assist their military capacity building.

Nick Harvey: We will support capacity building by the Governments of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan through a variety of targeted training opportunities.

Special Air Service: Recruitment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure appropriate recruitment of personnel to the Special Air Service.

Nick Harvey: The immense contribution of our highly-professional Special Forces is largely unreported, but this is necessary in order to protect operational capability. It is a long-standing policy that the Government do not ordinarily comment on matters relating to UK Special Forces.

Sri Lanka

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse was of (a) staff, (b) assistance and (c) accommodation in respect of his visit to Sri Lanka in July 2011.

Liam Fox: holding answer 18 July 2011
	I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 20 July 2011, Official Report, columns 1143-44W.
	Accommodation and assistance was provided by the high commission at no additional cost; the cost to the public purse of the three accompanying staff was £5,858.23 per person for international flights, which included an official visit to India en route to Sri Lanka.

Warrior Weapons

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the future of the Warrior weapons system;
	(2)  what plans he has to upgrade the Warrior weapons system.

Peter Luff: Warrior is the Army's principal infantry fighting vehicle and is integral to armoured manoeuvre, providing an unmatched combination of protection and mobility. The strategic defence and security review set out an enduring requirement for an armoured infantry capability, which the Warrior capability sustainment programme will deliver by extending the service life of the fleet.
	The Warrior capability sustainment programme is currently in its assessment phase. The main investment decision is expected later this year.

HEALTH

Sky TV

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on subscriptions to Sky TV since May 2010.

Simon Burns: Since May 2010, the Department's Media Centre has paid £3,054.77 (which includes value added tax) to maintain its monthly subscription to Sky TV.

Cancer: Drugs

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average time taken was to process applications to the interim Cancer Drugs Fund from the time of their receipt (a) nationally and (b) in each strategic health authority in the latest period for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: This information is not being collected centrally.
	In July 2010 the national health service Medical Director issued guidance to strategic health authorities which made clear that arrangements for the distribution of the additional £50 million of cancer drugs funding made available in 2010-11 should support timely decision-making, bearing in mind the 31 day cancer treatment standard. A copy of the guidance has been placed in the Library.

Care Homes: Insolvency

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of providers in the social care sector at risk of insolvency.

Paul Burstow: The Department has not made any such assessment. It is for the Care Quality Commission, as the regulator of adult social care services, to satisfy itself that a care service provider is financially viable.

Mental Health Services: Greater London

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the mental health performance data for NHS London for the third quarter of 2010-11, for what reasons the use of early intervention services and crisis resolution services increased.

Paul Burstow: In London, there were 3,992 people receiving treatment by early intervention teams at the end of the third quarter (December 2010) compared to 3,957 in quarter two and 3,928 in quarter one.
	Data for Crisis Resolution services are collected cumulatively. In London, teams carried out 17,867 home treatment episodes over the first three quarters in 2010-11; of which 6,060 episodes were recorded for quarter one and 12,009 episodes for quarter two.
	Data suggest that there was no noticeable increase in activities by the early intervention and crisis resolution services in London.
	Data are collected by the NHS Information Centre; they are available on request but not routinely published.

Mental Illness: Offenders

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the joint HM inspectorate of prisons and HM inspectorate of constabulary report into police custody suites in Avon and Somerset, what guidance his Department has issued to primary care trusts on the provision of places of safety for people detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983; and if he will take steps to assist South Gloucestershire primary care trust to improve its provision of such places.

Paul Burstow: The Department published guidance on places of safety in the revised Mental Health Act 1983 code of practice in May 2008, effective from November 2008. In addition, the Department issued guidance on section 44 of the Mental Health Act 2007 about transferring patients between places of safety. This came into force in April 2008.
	The Department is working with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the National Police Improvement Agency to develop joint guidance on mental health which included a response to section 136 and a template for a service level agreement on how a health-based place of safety should be managed in accordance with the Mental Health Act 1983 code of practice.
	Additionally, the Department is working with 10 police early adopter forces to transfer commissioning of police custodial health care. Complicit in this work will be care pathways for several cohorts of detainees into current community provision, including section 136 detainees into a health-based place of safety.
	Commissioning responsibility for all national health service services, including the provision of places of safety for section 136 detainees, rests with primary care trusts (PCTs). Each PCT should decide which health care treatments and services to provide for its local population, and commission these from NHS or independent sector providers. The Department is not prescriptive about how individual PCTs spend their budgets.

Palliative Care

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his end-of-life care proposals include any mechanism to measure and recognise the financial contribution of families to the care of vulnerable people.

Paul Burstow: We recognise the enormous contribution, including financial contribution, that families make to the care of people approaching the end of life.
	We welcome the final report of the independent Palliative Care Funding Review, which was published on 1 July. This has made an excellent start in looking at the complex and challenging issue of funding for palliative care and has come up with a range of significant proposals. We need now to consider these recommendations in detail and expect to consult stakeholders on the way forward later this summer before running pilots.

Palliative Care

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methods will be used to measure (a) quality and (b) access to services under his proposals for the provision of end-of-life care.

Paul Burstow: The independent Palliative Care Funding Review has looked at how Government can make sure that the money intended to help look after people who are approaching the end of life, and children who need palliative care, is spent in the right way. This will better enable people—children, adults and families—to choose how and from whom they receive the care they need.
	The Review, which reported on 1 July, has made an excellent start in looking at this complex and challenging issue. It has come up with a range of significant proposals. We need now to consider these recommendations in detail and expect to consult stakeholders on the way forward later this summer before running pilots.
	The Department has previously set out in the NHS Outcomes Framework its plans to develop a national indicator to measure the quality of end of life care. This will be informed by a national survey of the bereaved, which is currently being developed. We have also introduced an Indicator into the NHS Operating Framework for 2011-12 to measure the improvement on the proportion of people who die in their usual place of residence—that is, their home or their care home.

Physiotherapy: Fees and Charges

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2011, Official Report, column 91W, on physiotherapy, and with reference to the NHS Future Forum report, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that prices set for physiotherapy services within the NHS do not lead to restrictions on the availability of services to patients; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what measures his Department plans to put in place for future oversight of prices set for physiotherapy services within the NHS;
	(3)  what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that prices set for physiotherapy services within the NHS (a) are consistent across geographical areas and (b) do not lead to competition based on price.

Simon Burns: We have proposed that future oversight of prices within the national health service would be undertaken by Monitor and the NHS Commissioning Board, as set out in the Health and Social Care Bill (Part 3, Chapter 5). Under the proposed legislation, it would be for the NHS Commissioning Board to agree with Monitor whether and to what extent prices for physiotherapy services were to be determined by the national tariff, or set locally.
	Monitor would lead on developing the methodology for determining prices under the national tariff and agree this with the NHS Commissioning Board. We would expect Monitor to ensure consistency in the methodology for determining prices across different geographical areas, having regard to any unavoidable differences in the cost of providing services in different geographical areas.
	In carrying out its functions, Monitor would have to have regard to the need for commissioners to secure access to health care services, to meet the needs of their populations, and to make best use of NHS resources in doing so. In this way, commissioners will remain responsible for securing services and making best use of NHS resources to meet the health care needs of their populations, including in securing access to physiotherapy.
	We tabled amendments during the Public Bill Committee to make clear that the national tariff would be a fixed price, rather than a maximum price, so as to enable competition on quality, not on price, driven by patients' choices. For services outside the scope of the national tariff, we would expect commissioners to set prices on value for money criteria, as per guidance set out in the ‘Procurement guide for commissioners of NHS-funded services’, published in July 2010:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_118218
	A copy of this document has already been placed in the Library.

Prostate Cancer: Screening

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans his Department has to improve access to information on the prostate-specific antigen test for men at higher risk of developing prostate cancer including men (a) from African and African Caribbean backgrounds, (b) with a family history of the disease and (c) over the age of 50; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking, beyond the Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme, to raise awareness of prostate cancer amongst men at higher risk of the disease including men (a) from African and African Caribbean backgrounds, (b) with a family history of the disease and (c) over the age of 50; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer” highlights that the United Kingdom National Screening Committee has asked the Prostate Cancer Advisory Group (PCAG) to explore options for making the evidence-based Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme (PCRMP) information more accessible to all men. The Department is supportive of the principles of The Prostate Cancer Charity's “Testing Choices” campaign, and continues to work with the charity through PCAG, of which Owen Sharp, the chief executive of The Prostate Cancer Charity, is a member.
	The patient information sheets on Prostate Specific Antigen testing in the PCRMP packs make it clear that prostate cancer is less common in men below the age of 50, and the risk is greater for men with a familial history of prostate cancer and black-African and black-Caribbean men.
	To mark Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Week (11 to 17 July 2011), the National Cancer Action Team (NCAT) sponsored a supplement in The Voice newspaper which had a whole page dedicated to black men's higher risk of prostate cancer, including facts about prostate cancer and testing for prostate cancer. NCAT has now commenced a targeted awareness campaign, with 10,000 copies of the supplement being distributed across London, the West Midlands, the East Midlands, Bradford and Manchester. The supplement followed an editorial in The Voice in May 2011 that directly addressed the higher incidence of prostate cancer in black men.
	The Department is working collaboratively with Newham primary care trust, Newham University Hospital National Health Service Trust, The Prostate Cancer Charity and NCAT on a pilot community walk-in clinic for men with prostate problems at the Newham African-Caribbean Resource Centre. The pilot, which also aims to increase awareness of prostate cancer among the local population, is being evaluated to find out whether providing such a service in a community setting can make a difference to the numbers of men accessing this type of service rather than more traditional services. The clinic also offers men a series of prostate related tests, if required, with most test results provided immediately.

Radiotherapy: Finance

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many applications (a) in total and (b) to each strategic health authority for selective internal radiation therapy have been (i) achieved, (ii) approved and (iii) denied under (A) the interim Cancer Drugs Fund and (B) the Cancer Drugs Fund;
	(2)  which strategic health authorities have included selective internal radiation therapy as a treatment to be reimbursed by (a) the interim Cancer Drugs Fund and (b) the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Paul Burstow: Decisions on which drugs, including radiopharmaceuticals; are funded from the additional cancer drugs funding arrangements are a matter for regional clinically-led panels based on the advice of cancer specialists.
	Details of the arrangements that strategic health authorities have in place for the distribution of this funding are available on their websites.
	Information on the number of patients treated through these arrangements is being collected by the Department and a breakdown of strategic health authority expenditure for 2010-11 is not yet available.
	The Department is currently establishing monitoring arrangements for 2011-12.

Social Services: Finance

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the annual cost to local authorities (a) in Teesside and (b) nationally of the provision of social care.

Paul Burstow: Our latest expenditure data show that, in 2009-10, net current expenditure across the three local authorities of Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees was £145.922 million. The equivalent figure for England was £14,435.275 million.

Social Services: Manpower

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many social workers were employed by each local authority in (a) England and (b) Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Burstow: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care collects and publishes data relating to the number of social workers directly employed by social services departments within councils with social services responsibilities in England.
	The following table shows the number of whole-time equivalent social workers employed in each council in England during the period 2000 to 2010 as at 30 September.
	Data for Wales are not collected by the NHS Information Centre.
	
		
			 Number of social workers (whole time equivalent) employed by social services departments in England by council from 2000 to 2010 
			 As at 30 September 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 England(1) 36,900 37,800 38,800 40,400 41,100 42,400 43,900 44,800 44,800 45,700 45,800 
			             
			 Barking and Dagenham 95 105 110 110 130 135 150 225 260 215 205 
			 Barnet 185 220 245 265 270 250 255 255 285 250 290 
			 Barnsley 165 165 170 165 180 185 230 225 145 220 215 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 115 115 120 115 105 135 130 140 140 120 115 
			 Bedfordshire(2) 200 215 235 240 270 295 305 285 255 n/a n/a 
			 Bedford n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 230 200 
			 Central Bedfordshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 90 95 
			 Bexley 155 165 165 165 140 145 135 125 110 145 145 
			 Birmingham 855 935 1,035 1,060 1,160 1,140 1,155 1,165 1,235 1,225 1,165 
			 Blackburn 125 125 135 135 160 170 180 185 190 180 190 
			 Blackpool 145 130 115 125 130 150 150 170 170 195 195 
			 Bolton 235 240 245 285 255 285 310 340 320 295 255 
			 Bournemouth 175 175 170 165 170 165 175 175 170 180 200 
			 Bracknell Forest 65 60 75 70 65 85 75 85 100 100 105 
			 Bradford 380 390 400 415 465 480 505 510 515 525 560 
			 Brent 205 160 275 220 180 210 215 240 240 260 275 
			 Brighton and Hove 295 330 275 295 285 310 370 495 400 365 255 
			 Bristol 390 365 405 450 465 475 500 460 510 495 500 
			 Bromley 185 175 175 175 200 225 225 240 235 230 230 
			 Buckinghamshire 220 220 205 215 195 210 240 255 285 290 260 
			 Bury 135 145 140 135 145 140 150 165 150 165 180 
			 Calderdale 125 125 130 120 135 130 120 140 135 135 65 
			 Cambridgeshire 305 370 420 400 265 265 280 270 300 325 335 
			 Camden 280 265 265 270 290 320 360 365 360 355 380 
			 Cheshire(2) 395 415 420 420 435 460 490 455 510 n/a n/a 
			 Cheshire East n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 255 250 
			 Cheshire West and Chester n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 250 245 
			 City of London 25 25 15 25 20 15 25 15 15 10 10 
			 Cornwall 265 265 280 305 335 385 425 405 395 395 375 
			 Coventry 220 250 255 295 305 305 325 335 320 330 360 
			 Croydon 225 220 230 240 265 290 300 305 285 270 220 
			 Cumbria 305 330 350 370 370 405 405 410 425 435 430 
			 Darlington 65 75 70 60 80 75 80 85 90 85 100 
			 Derby 250 250 255 255 230 230 240 240 235 205 255 
			 Derbyshire 510 495 535 550 565 590 590 580 590 615 630 
			 Devon 485 420 430 440 440 490 500 490 435 470 440 
			 Doncaster 180 180 200 205 255 265 255 270 290 290 305 
			 Dorset 295 305 320 325 310 310 330 335 340 410 435 
			 Dudley 185 200 200 200 245 250 290 315 300 295 255 
			 Durham 375 410 420 380 395 405 425 425 455 495 490 
			 Ealing 175 200 155 195 220 275 325 340 315 315 340 
			 East Riding 220 235 240 185 210 200 215 210 220 230 295 
			 East Sussex 465 440 485 520 545 540 545 565 580 610 640 
			 Enfield 135 155 170 190 220 235 240 275 250 275 280 
		
	
	
		
			 Essex 750 870 855 870 805 795 855 890 755 875 890 
			 Gateshead 200 205 200 205 205 205 200 190 195 200 210 
			 Gloucestershire 325 310 270 270 310 315 305 290 275 290 275 
			 Greenwich 235 245 235 260 255 285 295 390 350 330 310 
			 Hackney 295 280 185 185 205 205 230 305 280 245 275 
			 Halton 90 90 90 100 105 100 100 90 105 110 120 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 215 210 235 250 235 255 265 260 345 365 215 
			 Hampshire 570 635 535 760 765 755 700 685 715 685 750 
			 Haringey 175 265 280 360 290 275 155 285 280 270 285 
			 Harrow 180 170 185 180 180 180 180 185 185 165 175 
			 Hartlepool 105 120 115 120 120 105 105 105 110 100 110 
			 Havering 100 105 105 100 120 120 125 140 130 150 165 
			 Herefordshire 105 105 115 115 115 110 110 125 130 135 115 
			 Hertfordshire 790 790 695 685 675 675 700 725 700 670 670 
			 Hillingdon 155 150 180 190 180 215 205 215 210 205 240 
			 Hounslow 105 145 140 150 160 190 210 210 185 195 200 
			 Isle of Wight 125 115 120 115 140 140 145 145 145 145 145 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 5 
			 Islington 310 255 265 255 290 340 340 335 335 330 310 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 260 245 245 245 250 260 250 270 270 270 260 
			 Kent 995 1,065 1,120 1,165 1,190 1,240 1,205 1,155 1,170 1,120 1,235 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull 235 240 255 330 370 355 390 360 285 370 345 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 115 105 115 110 115 120 135 120 140 155 165 
			 Kirklees 295 300 335 345 365 380 365 365 360 385 400 
			 Knowsley 125 120 130 150 155 155 165 165 160 140 85 
			 Lambeth 470 295 250 265 295 285 285 285 315 320 355 
			 Lancashire 685 715 735 750 750 790 840 795 865 945 1,015 
			 Leeds 520 550 555 600 620 625 655 670 680 680 595 
			 Leicester 315 320 360 375 355 385 385 385 410 425 440 
			 Leicestershire 295 295 290 290 285 300 290 280 265 295 295 
			 Lewisham 285 285 275 305 265 270 305 310 305 295 300 
			 Lincolnshire 335 400 350 355 350 355 370 375 400 410 425 
			 Liverpool 450 425 430 440 420 400 425 495 485 505 495 
			 Luton 140 175 140 155 145 155 180 120 125 135 120 
			 Manchester 510 520 510 490 515 560 580 585 605 545 560 
			 Medway Towns 175 185 190 190 190 200 205 220 210 210 225 
			 Merton 100 85 90 130 110 100 140 140 140 135 145 
			 Middlesbrough 160 165 195 205 235 240 265 265 250 275 300 
			 Milton Keynes 125 140 160 160 155 170 165 190 185 185 190 
			 North East Lincolnshire 90 85 120 145 125 115 130 105 110 105 115 
			 North Lincolnshire 95 90 100 115 125 130 145 150 135 170 235 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 330 345 345 350 325 315 350 385 420 440 465 
			 Newham 275 270 245 250 295 315 340 375 415 345 280 
			 Norfolk 520 510 540 555 605 620 605 590 625 600 615 
			 North Somerset 135 125 130 145 165 160 165 180 165 175 180 
			 North Tyneside 170 190 170 180 210 175 180 185 205 215 100 
			 North Yorkshire 305 310 340 380 420 470 470 470 440 460 460 
			 Northamptonshire 275 365 410 655 345 405 430 430 445 440 245 
			 Northumberland 280 305 275 195 195 220 215 220 210 200 205 
			 Nottingham 375 385 370 380 385 335 330 315 345 340 340 
			 Nottinghamshire 485 505 545 565 605 615 630 620 625 530 640 
			 Oldham 155 185 190 195 190 160 200 230 190 230 215 
			 Oxfordshire 390 405 390 395 420 425 430 440 465 475 465 
			 Peterborough 75 105 70 85 75 95 105 95 105 120 115 
			 Plymouth 210 200 215 225 245 225 215 220 250 280 280 
			 Poole 100 125 125 120 120 120 130 130 125 145 145 
		
	
	
		
			 Portsmouth 150 170 165 175 165 190 180 190 100 100 220 
			 Reading 120 120 115 120 100 105 105 105 100 115 135 
			 Redbridge 115 125 130 140 145 185 190 230 195 215 205 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 120 125 125 125 120 120 125 135 140 160 135 
			 Richmond upon Thames 115 90 120 110 115 115 125 130 120 125 110 
			 Rochdale 160 175 180 190 205 195 200 200 195 175 145 
			 Rotherham 220 245 270 270 260 230 215 255 250 275 305 
			 Rutland 10 10 10 15 15 20 20 20 20 25 20 
			 Salford 235 220 245 270 270 280 315 370 365 400 390 
			 Sandwell 230 120 225 225 260 235 280 300 270 265 270 
			 Sefton 215 200 205 215 220 245 250 255 225 255 255 
			 Sheffield 460 475 475 490 560 570 635 645 550 650 710 
			 Shropshire 170 185 190 210 215 245 210 195 195 200 200 
			 Slough 70 85 80 115 120 120 135 145 125 130 125 
			 Solihull 170 155 165 170 155 150 170 135 140 155 165 
			 Somerset 375 390 405 420 415 415 440 415 405 420 420 
			 South Gloucestershire 140 155 155 155 160 150 185 185 200 200 195 
			 South Tyneside 130 145 175 195 225 240 230 235 230 110 75 
			 Southampton 185 220 220 145 255 215 215 255 250 270 255 
			 Southend 115 125 130 130 110 110 135 130 140 150 170 
			 Southwark 300 315 335 355 390 410 455 465 455 435 465 
			 St Helens 140 125 150 150 165 170 160 155 145 160 170 
			 Staffordshire 580 560 580 630 655 770 775 760 795 765 465 
			 Stockport n/a 205 210 210 230 235 240 255 280 305 315 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 145 145 n/a 140 140 150 150 155 205 230 195 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 275 255 265 245 270 245 285 295 295 255 275 
			 Suffolk 340 335 395 385 465 450 430 380 495 515 545 
			 Sunderland 275 310 345 355 295 310 310 320 310 320 375 
			 Surrey 560 580 600 615 555 655 710 645 730 730 685 
			 Sutton 110 130 155 145 145 145 160 160 170 180 175 
			 Swindon 150 165 140 135 160 145 160 165 140 150 160 
			 Tameside 140 145 160 170 160 160 180 185 185 200 215 
			 Telford and Wrekin 160 155 150 150 165 180 180 180 190 185 210 
			 Thurrock 105 125 110 125 165 170 175 170 160 145 155 
			 Torbay 105 115 125 125 145 140 110 95 95 95 95 
			 Tower Hamlets 220 240 265 275 310 365 350 360 320 380 390 
			 Trafford 135 145 140 150 145 155 180 180 185 195 205 
			 Wakefield 325 335 335 335 305 320 315 350 345 350 335 
			 Walsall 240 260 235 195 255 245 260 265 250 255 295 
			 Waltham Forest 205 195 195 215 240 210 265 210 190 240 280 
			 Wandsworth 275 280 275 260 245 245 245 260 275 300 300 
			 Warrington 110 125 140 170 170 175 180 175 180 180 190 
			 Warwickshire n/a 340 370 425 385 380 370 380 390 435 455 
			 West Berkshire 80 80 85 110 95 110 110 120 110 115 115 
			 West Sussex 425 440 475 505 505 465 530 510 560 615 625 
			 Westminster 310 305 325 325 305 345 350 365 335 325 305 
			 Wigan 275 305 315 335 230 260 250 320 260 290 295 
			 Wiltshire 265 235 230 240 245 270 275 255 285 220 270 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 80 60 60 75 80 90 85 90 85 80 100 
			 Wirral 270 260 265 255 280 300 315 335 335 330 360 
			 Wokingham 85 95 95 85 105 105 105 110 110 105 100 
			 Wolverhampton 175 150 200 205 220 210 225 215 240 230 220 
			 Worcestershire 385 380 385 400 420. 390 420 430 430 420 470 
			 York 110 105 155 125 150 120 115 70 135 185 180 
			 n/a = Data not available. Estimates have been used to produce England figures. (1) The sum of the council data may not add up to the England total due to rounding. (2) In April 2009 Bedfordshire and Cheshire were split into four councils "Bedford" and "Central Bedfordshire", and "Cheshire East" and "Cheshire West and Chester" respective. Note: Data have been rounded to the nearest 5.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Saudi Arabia

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 7 July 2011, Official Report, column 1376W, on visits abroad: Saudi Arabia, what official meetings or functions the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State attended; and what the (a) purpose and (b) outcome was of each.

Jeremy Browne: Lord Marland met a variety of British businesses during a dinner on his arrival on 29 May 2011. The next day he attended the International Energy Forum where he met Noe Van Hulst, Secretary General. Later he met Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh, Dr Waleed Abulfaraj, VP, King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) and Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Assistant Minister for Petroleum Affairs. Finally, he visited King Saud University and met the President, Dr Abdullah al Othman.
	The purpose of the meetings was to strengthen the UK's relationship with Saudi Arabia on energy, commercial and other bilateral issues. This included reinforcing the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Gulf Initiative, discussing oil and gas issues and exploring opportunities for the British and Saudi governments to support the private sector in driving sustainable and mutually beneficial growth.
	The outcome of the meetings was a strengthened producer-consumer dialogue on a wide range of energy issues, including oil and gas market evolution and nuclear projects. He opened talks on potential major commercial deals, and reported back to the Government on new commercial opportunities. He was also able to inform major Gulf investors about key UK inward investment opportunities which have laid essential groundwork for his future follow-up visit with a trade and investment delegation in his capacity as chairman of the ambassadors' network.

JUSTICE

Lancaster Farms Young Offender Institution: Health Services

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice why there has been a reduction in the budget cut of the medical services at Lancaster Farms Young Offender Institution.

Paul Burstow: I have been asked to reply.
	The 2010-11 health care budget at Her Majesty’s Prison Young Offenders Institute Lancaster Farms (HMP YOI Lancaster Farms) was reduced by £562,000. This represents a 29% reduction in the health care budget issued to HMP YOI Lancaster Farms and directly correlates to the removal of 130 places for people under the age of 18 by the Youth Justice Board (YJB).
	The YJB’s decision to remove 130 places, and the funding adjustment itself, reflect the current absence of young people under 18 being held at HMP YOI Lancaster Farms. The Department and NHS North Lancashire are confident that appropriate services are deliverable within the confines of revised funding.